Southeast Toyota (SET) Racket

[get.outside.75]

SET doesn’t have dealerships. They are the distributor for the southeastern US. It was probably an AutoNation dealership

SET has customers…every dealer in the southeast. They determine what POI goes into a car and sets MSRP.

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[timelapse]

I expanded my search outside of the SET zone to escape their nonsense. I'm based in ATL. In the end, I ended up at small dealer in Savannah, GA that offered the best discount and almost no port add-on crap. Just a dumb set of USB cables and a cargo cover. It was SET, but I got lucky to avoid the usual headache. This was in March. Once you get outside of SET, you also start to discover dealers who don't have outrageous doc fees. Best of luck.

 

[LLL1990]

Gulf States Toyota is no different, 2-3 grand in PIO on every 4Runner before they get to the dealer.

 

[HVLA]

It's depressing because it would be nice if you could buy the car that you want without having to buy from a dealer 1,000+ miles away to do it. That's what I'm going to end up doing. Just wish it were easier.

I guess I just like driving. I am going to pick mine up tomorrow 450 miles from here. Better dealership that I have purchased from before and it will be basically broke in when I get home.

Plus my wife and I will enjoy the area while we are there for the day. Mini vacation.

 

[Dead Horse]

It's not even quality stuff either. It's almost always tier III crap.

I could have written this same diatribe, but about Gulf States Toyota.

Dealers are almost all shitshows that add thousands in trash that I don't want...Like we needed a SECOND middle man adding thousands to a vehicle price.

All of that is after Toyota upped the price of the TRD Pro by FIFTEEN GRAND.

 

[rocktheroad]

I had a similar experience trying to find TRD ORP. I even planned to go to Louisiana from Florida, and then the dealer last-minute quoted me that for out-of-state buyers extended warranty was required (3.5k value).

At the moment when I looked for my 4Runner inventory was really thin, QA hold started, and the tariff war was looming around, it was hard to find what you wanted.

So in the end, the user from this forum gave me contact, and I travelled to Georgia and found what I wanted. Although it is within the SET region, it had minimal addons, the Toyoguard warranty $600, cables, and that is about it. I was afraid that I might end up with some additional items or hidden fees, but I have to say that I was thrilled by how transparent everything was as we agreed. They will try to sell as much as they can with additional warranties and services, as it is their business after all, but they honored what we agreed on.

Hearing horror stories, I am afraid of where I am going to service my car around my place in Florida... I don't want to travel 400 miles to do the service I had already terrible experience with the Hyundai dealership here, which used very strong false and predatory wording that my car would have a void warranty if I didn't do $850 estimated maintenance with just 20k on it.

So looks like even within the SET region, there should be a respectable dealership.

 

[Gumpus]

I'm car-shopping too and after getting a "you've got to be kidding me" MSRP quote from my extra slimy local Honda dealer I learned that Costco has a car buying service that has solid pre-negotiated discounts with participating dealers so that's what I will try next. I don't need to get the very best discount, I just need to feel OK about the purchase.

 

[ggrant20]

I was frustrated by this as well in GA, I was even on the verge of shipping a car from Colorado because they had so much available stock there (high demand) and I have family there.

Ultimately I ended up getting one from Beaver Toyota in Cumming, GA which I think is the largest in the state so they were willing to do some give and take. Paid for some adds ons I didn’t want (Toyoguard and the charging cables) but was able to switch other options for ones I actually wanted (cargo led lights, dashcam, and floor mats).
They took $850 off the MSRP to balance the toyoguard and threw in front window tint, their “beaver benefits” which has a lifetime powertrain warranty along, and the Toyota platinum warranty (100k/10yr bumper to bumper) so I felt it was worth the $2k extra as that’s the cost of the warranty by itself.

I wasn’t worried about getting the best deal, but they worked with me enough to get it where I was happy and I absolutely love what I got. Good luck!

 

[MDD_TRD]

Hit up Peter at automation Ft. Myers, let me him know Mark sent you. He gave me a great deal and under msrp for my 4Runner and was able to get it from a dealer. Imo he did great and no gimmicks. I negotiated from 200 miles away and drove down to pick up.

 

[Nodak]

I live in Florida and recently have begun seriously searching for a TRD Pro. I know my username involves the Platinum, but I've changed my mind and am seeking a Pro. Many of the OG's on the forum already know this and have posted about it, but man it seems almost impossible to get any kind of deal at all with the monopoly that SET (Southeast Toyota) has down here with their mostly unwanted PIO add ons to drive the price up several thousand dollars.

And their prices are much higher for any PIO that you might actually want. I have gone to the 'Toyota Configurator' and searched for TRD Pro's within 500 miles of me (Central Florida).... prices are high. I know about SET, so I just randomly changed the zip code to some cities in the Northeast, just to compare. Here's what I found:

1. Predator steps in SET are $999. In the Northeast they are $699.
2. Cross bars in SET are $529. In the Northeast they are $420.
3. LED Cargo light in SET is $529. In the Northeast it is $325.
4. All weather cargo mat in SET is $299. In the Northeast it is $130.

It's true for just about all of the PIO's but I'm tired of typing them all. Not to mention the 'Toyoguard Platinum' that is put on every car for $699 which essentially amounts to 2 oil changes and 4 tire rotations.

I gotta go out of the Southeast region unless I'm willing to pay thousands extra. It's gonna be cheaper to buy in the Northeast or somewhere else and fly to pick it up or have it shipped to Florida. Pretty depressing. End of rant.

try just up the way in TN, they are outside SET

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